As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems connected to a network provide greater access to data and processing resources and facilitate the exchange of information. In order to connect to a network, an information handling system typically needs a network interface card (NIC). A NIC allows an information handling system to communicate with other information handling systems in a network environment.
If a NIC does not function properly, the information handling system typically lacks networking capabilities. A NIC may fail to operate in a variety of ways. The failure may originate from either a hardware or software problem and may not be readily apparent to the user.
Solutions to networking problems have typically focused on detecting problems communicating with other information handling systems. For example, one solution tests whether nodes of external information handling systems are able to respond to a communication from a NIC. However, this solution does not diagnose whether the NIC is properly sending a signal to the external node.
Other solutions for diagnosing problems related to the operation of a NIC focus on testing specific types or models of NIC produced by a specific manufacturer. However, such manufacturer-specific testing software creates an administrative burden on system administrators and other users. Additionally, current systems often do not detect or identify problems relating to the interaction of hardware and software associated with the NIC.